Australian indie-rocker Alex Lahey shares stories with Bonnaroo attendees at the What Stage at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on June 8, 2018 Andrew Wigdor / MTSU Seigenthaler News Service

Alex Lahey lets loose with wild vocals during her performance at the What Stage at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on June 8, 2018 Andrew Wigdor / MTSU Seigenthaler News Service

Ever since electronic dance music took hold in the States some six years ago, rock bands have had their work cut out for them when they show up at a massive music festival like Bonnaroo.

So many of the millennials wandering the grounds at night are in search of sensory overload, and it’s hard for guitar-slingers to compete with the perfectly calculated bass drops, strobe flashes and fog blasts of Bassnectar or Pretty Lights.

There may have been a guitarist, bassist and drummer at center stage Friday night, but the British rock trio’s headlining Bonnaroo set was also as computerized as they come. The vibrant video screens and light displays pulsed perfectly in time with their pummeling tunes. Even frontman Matt Bellamy’s guitar glowed with neon outlines at synchronized points.

Muse were the headliners at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018.(Photo11: Brianna Paciorka / knoxnews.com)

At the same time, Bellamy and company seem determined to play the role of the big, bombastic stadium rock band of yore — every version that you could possibly ask for. There were echoes of Pink Floyd, particularly with a “The Wall”-worthy video of a drill sergeant barking orders at the viewer. There were moments of operatic rock that recalled Queen’s metal leanings. Bellamy tapped his frets like Eddie Van Halen and teased classic rock riffs like “Sweet Child O Mine.”

But the band’s critics — as they’ve said for the last 20 years — would tell you there’s no band they play the role of more passionately than early Radiohead. Sure, countless bands aped that group’s minor-key melodramatics, or Thom Yorke’s signature caterwauling, but few dared to crib both like Muse has.

Muse were the headliners at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018.(Photo11: Brianna Paciorka / knoxnews.com)

In their defense, they’ve spent more than 20 years taking that approach down their own path.

That was driven home through the roars of recognition that greeted tunes from “Hysteria” to “Starlight,” “Uprising” and “Time Is Running Out.”

And on Friday night, Muse once again filled a role — as festival-headlining rock giants — as expertly as anyone could, with an eye towards the future of festival theatrics.
Honestly, it’s a role they could have played at Bonnaroo at least a decade ago, well before the rise of EDM.

Bellamy seemed keenly aware of that, too.

“We’ve wanted to play here for years,” he told his audience. “And we finally made it.”

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R.J. Morrow holds a “Love Here” sign up as a signal to friends in her group at Bonnaroo on Friday evening. “Love Here is a Bass Head community group. We put together these meet-ups and it’s all about spreading the love.” June 8, 2018 Alton Strupp/courier-journal.com

Brent Buffin of Ontario cools off on pink float in a blow up pool at the his campground site at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Shelley Mays / Tennessean.com

Meet the Frinks. Chelsea took on the Frink name Friday at Bonnaroo when she married Brett Frink. The couple from Golden, Colorado decided to make their wedding at Bonnaroo, because of the role it’s played in their lives over the past years. “We wanted to have a destination weding and this was the easiest way for a lot of our friends to make it and have a good time,” Brett said. “It’s kind of defined the relationship.” June 8, 2018 Alton Strupp/courier-journal.com

Meet the Frinks. Chelsea took on the Frink name Friday at Bonnaroo when she married Brett Frink. The couple from Golden, Colorado decided to make their wedding at Bonnaroo, because of the role it’s played in their lives over the past years. “We wanted to have a destination weding and this was the easiest way for a lot of our friends to make it and have a good time,” Brett said. “It’s kind of defined the relationship.” June 8, 2018 Alton Strupp/courier-journal.com

Meet the Frinks. Chelsea took on the Frink name Friday at Bonnaroo when she married Brett Frink. The couple from Golden, Colorado decided to make their wedding at Bonnaroo, because of the role it’s played in their lives over the past years. “We wanted to have a destination weding and this was the easiest way for a lot of our friends to make it and have a good time,” Brett said. “It’s kind of defined the relationship.” June 8, 2018 Alton Strupp/courier-journal.com

Brent Buffin of Ontario cools off on pink float in a blow up pool at the his camp site at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Shelley Mays / Tennessean.com

Jeff Nichlos of Spring Hill, TN cools off in a pool at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. He paid $60 to fill up the pool. Shelley Mays / Tennessean.com

Meet the Frinks. Chelsea took on the Frink name Friday at Bonnaroo when she married Brett Frink. The couple from Golden, Colorado decided to make their wedding at Bonnaroo, because of the role it’s played in their lives over the past years. “We wanted to have a destination weding and this was the easiest way for a lot of our friends to make it and have a good time,” Brett said. “It’s kind of defined the relationship.” June 8, 2018 Alton Strupp/courier-journal.com

Melanie Ritchie marketing manager of What Goes Around Comes Around helps Wesley Lozano, Texas, at the pop up store at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Jessica Bliss / tennessean.com

Ken Spring instructor at the Belmont Music Sociology and consumer research class asks a question at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Tom Stanford, Tom Stanford / Tennessean.com

Molly Dworsky, a member of the Belmont Music Socialogy and consumer research class, asks a question at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Tom Stanford, Tom Stanford / Tennessean.com

Courtney Stewart manager of Khalid speaks to the Belmont Music Sociology and consumer research class asks a question at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on Friday, June 8, 2018. Tom Stanford, Tom Stanford / Tennessean.com